IND vs SL, 2nd Test: India sweeps series 2-0 with 238-run win on day three
IND vs SL 3rd Test Day Three: Sri Lanka was bowled out for 208 in pursuit of a mammoth 447 as India won by 238 runs at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday.
Published : Mar 14, 2022 18:27 IST
Sri Lanka was blown away by 238 runs well inside three days as India completed a thumping 2-0 clean sweep at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday. Rohit Sharma's men have also pocketed 24 World Test Championship (WTC) points after the two wins, moving up one spot to sit fourth on the table.
Sri Lanka knew that the result of this match and this series had been decided long ago.
It tried to ward off defeat but just on a basic level, it was simply outplayed by a superior opposition.
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Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis began day three positively, collecting 42 runs in the first 30 minutes of play. Both showed decisive footwork, either getting to the pitch of the ball or going deep inside the crease to get on the top of the spin.
Mendis brought up his 12th half-century off just 57 balls. But just when hopes of a Lankan fightback started to flicker, Ravichandran Ashwin beat Mendis in flight, drift and dip to have him stumped and break a second-wicket partnership — highest Lankan partnership for any wicket this series — of 97. In the process, Ashwin also moved level with South African great Dale Steyn's Test tally of 439 wickets.
Shortly after, he overtook Steyn when Dhananjaya de Silva was caught by Hanuma Vihari at short leg. Only seven other bowlers now have more Test wickets than Ashwin, who has Courtney Walsh's 519 in sight.
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In the middle of this record-breaking passage of play, Angelo Mathews was yorked by Ravindra Jadeja, springing too many leaks for the visitors to plug at the same time. But Karunaratne, like the captain of a sinking ship, fought on to reach his 50 off 92 balls and drew applause from one section of the crowd.
Sri Lanka, which went into the break four down for 151, lost a fifth almost immediately after Tea; Axar Patel beating Niroshan Dickwella with a flatter trajectory for Rishabh Pant to effect a sharp stumping.
At the end of his previous over, Rohit had a brief word with Axar, possibly on what line to bowl to the left-handers. There was a nod of the ahead from the left-armer at the end of the chat, and he promptly delivered. Few overs later, Axar had his second when Charith Asalanka was caught by Rohit at backward short leg.
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But Karunaratne batted on with unwavering focus, reaching a high-class hundred with a flick behind square leg for four off Jasprit Bumrah. The celebratory cheers that filled the stadium as soon as the ball left Karunaratne's bat was a fitting salutation to an innings during which the southpaw married grit with the grace of his strokeplay. Pant acknowledged the riposte by giving the Lankan skipper a fist bump during the subsequent drinks break.
However, his resistance ended with Bumrah clean bowling him for a 174-ball 107. He walked back to a standing ovation from the fans and a pat on the back from Virat Kohli and Mayank Agarwal.
The end was swift thereafter. However, there was a touching moment when Bumrah clean bowled Suranga Lakmal, playing his last Test, and ran up to him to shake his hands. The rest of the Indian team did the same.
A bittersweet end to what has been a tough tour for Sri Lanka.